Sharp Netwalker Z1: Mini-Netbook with Ubuntu

With the PC-Z1 Netwalker Sharp presents a first mini-netbook based on ARM chips. The device runs with a 5" touchscreen and comes pre-installed with Ubuntu 9.04.

The PC-Z1, which follows in the footstep of the Sharp Zaurus, runs over a WLAN module to communicate with the outside world, while a 3G modem can be added via USB. The Netwalker measures about 16 x 11 x 2.5 cm and weighs 400 grams.

In the inside is an i.MX515 processor from Freescale running at 800 MHz. Apart from a 512-MByte main memory the Netwalker provides 4 GBytes of Flash memory, with Ubuntu using about half of it. The small 5" screen has the typical netbook resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, while the keyboard is tiny by most standards. Battery life is 10 hours, according to Sharp. So far Sharp has featured the Z1 on their Japanese website only.